The Weather: Snow with temps somewhere between witches tit and well digger's Ass. Just as I was registering, my brother from Tucson called just to let me know that it was twice as warm in Fairbanks, Alaska as it was in Colorado. I can't thank you enough for that bro! Someone said it was 17 deg F, when we started and warmed to a balmy 19 deg F by the end. Jon Baker summed it up best when he said that 45 or even 60 min was not too bad. However, when you broke the 1.5 hr time of racing, it really started to suck...... and most everyone was out there between 1.5 and 3 hours.
The Course: 11 mile loop around Bear Creek State Park. This race was the brain child of Tom Hall after he raced the Battle of the Bear on a very similar course. The main club behind it was IC3 with my own Frites en Mayo Velo Club helping out so that we met our ACA requirements of promoting a race. Indeed it was an attempt to do something more akin to the
3 Peaks. Every other course we do all season is the same 45 minutes of 1 to 2 mile laps. This is the one opportunity to do something different. The course had three major climbs, the first all single-track, the 2nd was a combination of single-track and paved road, and a final one that had barrier placement to force a run-up. Other shit thrown in on each lap to make things interesting included but was not limited to: 2 sand pits, a water crossing and the gravel pit of death (right at the very top of the paved climb). The surface was at least 80% single-track and pretty mtn bike friendly. On race day, it was a combination of mud and ice which made it even more mtn bike friendly. It dried out later in the day so that the guys on CX bike were not so much at a disadvantage. I think Mtn Bikes won every cat except the single speeds.
The Cats: The usual age discrimination was forsaken for a simple breakdown on ability of A's, B's and C's for men and women.
IC3 always has a slot for juniors and newbies (never raced before). They also threw in two levels of Single Speed and in response to my begging.... a Clydesdale class. Juniors and Newbies got the honor of breaking in the course with a single lap. The the C men, B&C Women, B level single-speed, and the Clydes got 2 laps, the fast people got 3 laps.
Race Turnout: The fact that it was cold enough to freeze the balls off of a brass monkey made sure that only the bravest (or perhaps stupidest) came out to play. The prize for winning either of the single speed races was a new frame so the SS cats were bigger than normal. There were 7 Clydesdales who showed up to see what kind of food we were racing for. The rest of the cats were pretty small when compared to a normal turnout. I think most of the city and county of Boulder stayed home in an effort to go full gas on the groomed grass of Interlocken the next day.
******* Major Props to the
BlueSky Velo team that was there in full force. Yeah, I know, it a big team, but alot of those guys (and gals as they made up 100% of the women's B/C's field) had to drive a ways to get to the race. BSV is in full force supporting every race out there. That is why their Xilinx race is excluded from FMVC rule #3 *******
FMVC Turnout: We actually had a larger Frites en Mayo contingent than normal. Rich had gone rogue and chosen to forsake FMVC Rule #3 (penalty to be assessed later as soon as we figure out what it is) and was saving himself for Interlocken. Of usual group we had the phat kids of yours truly and Dash. Cap'n Slow was out and about, as was half of our Skinny Fast Guys (SFG) tandem Matt "For the last time, I am not a clone of Tim Johnson" Klick. (The reader by now may have figured out that riders with large power to weight ratios who kick my butt every weekend are formally know as Little Skinny Bastards (LSB) whereas my FMVC team-mates who possess the same attributes are know as Skinny Fast Guys. They are two totally differ groups) Also joining in on the fun was Benji "Shiek Yabouti" McPhail and Luke "Did you know my brother Derek is a gay icon?" Jeter. Originally, we thought we had gotten permission from the head promoter to race under our newly found Roller Derby skate names, but it turns out that names like Huge G. Recksun and Heywood Jablowme are not recognized by the either the ACA or IC3.
All of us except for Matt were set for two laps. Dash, Cap'n Slow and Benji were racing in the C's and got a 1 min head start on Luke (B's SS") and I (Clydesdale). The SFG was racing the mens B's and would have to tough out the cold for 3 laps.
Pre-race: I had brought both the CX and the 29'er with me. I made a race-time decision of the 29'er. Half-way through the 1st lap, I would discover how lucky I was with that decision. It was impossible to keep warm while trying to change into my cycling kit. At 6'4", the whole changing while sitting inside a vehicle thing just does not happen. I am a stand outside the truck and flash the world my naked butt type of guy. I think I speak for all the guys and gals that day that changing into a kit with cold chamois creme in 17 deg F weather is something that does not come natural. By the time I finished getting changed, the toes and fingers were numb.
The Race: By the time we were close to starting, I had pretty much lost all feeling in my hands and feet from the cold. After giving the C's their promised 1 minute head start, they turned loose the thundering heard of Clydesdales and B's SS. The course lead immediately into a sand pit dismount and then out onto a single track. The start was actually quite civilized due to the small numbers and the fact everyone was pretty much frozen. About 1/4 mile in, the course took a sharp 270 degree turn to the left and dropped down this nasty, rock laden ravine. As was the case with several of the decents, the mountain bikes were an advantage here because you could just let them run while the guys on CX bikes had to be more careful with the line. Halfway down the decent stood Cap'n slow by the side of the trail. I gave him the ol "Dude! You OK?" as I went barreling past. He gave a generic "Yeah" in response. That was the last most of us saw of Cap'n Slow for the day. I later found out that his genitalia had frozen so he went home to a warm blanket.
The course lead onto a wide hiking/biking path that wound along side Bear Creek..... Advantage CX bikes if you could push the power. It crossed over a bridge and continued along smooth, wide single-track for several miles towards Pelican Point. It was pretty slick in spots but still an advantage to the CX bikes. The main issue was the occasional rock in the single-track that was just looking for someone running carbon rims that it could bust. Pelican point brought another sand pit to run through followed by yet more single track. About what I would guess to be 3 miles into to the loop was this little beauty.
Seemingly harmless left hander turns into......
A fricken Water Crossing!
You could actually keep your feet dry if you took advantage
of the IC3 provided cinder block path on the right hand side.
When the original course was laid out, it was 80 deg F and we thought that a water crossing seemed like a cool idea. At 18 deg F and colder than a nun's navel, I was wondering what sick bastard wanted me to lose my toes to frost bite.
Along the single-track leading over to Carbon Peak, I got the nice surprise of the feeling coming back into my fingers. The toes were not going to thaw for a while.
The next major feature was Carbon Peak. This was where the race was won or lost in the mtn bike vs. CX bike competition. The muddy single track assent called for a low gear. Watching the single speeders go up what seem to be a 10 minute climb but was probably only half that was kinda painful.
It's a long way to the top!
The decent was a mud/ice covered, rock strewn, slick as snot single-track that was a big advantage for the mtn bike.
If you survived that, it dropped you off onto a climb that started out single-track and then turned onto a paved road. At the top of the climb waited the Gravel Pit of Death.
Entrance to the Gravel Pit of Death
Exit from the Gravel Pit of Death
The remaining 5 miles or so was single and double track with a large hill run-up (complete with double barriers) somewhere in the there.
The 2nd lap was just like the first one except is sucked much more. Spending 45 minutes at near max effort is something I have been able to get my mind around after a couple years of racing. Doing it for over 1.5 hours took all the "Come-on Man! You are on the final lap! You just gotta keep pushing till the end!" that I could muster.
The FMVC crew did not fair well. Cap'n Slow's frozen genitalia issue made him the first victim of this race. Shiek Yabouti flatted about 7 miles in and got a nice long walk. Lukas wisely decided that one lap on a SS for his first race was enough. On top of those DNF's we had one DFC. At the end of one lap, Dash just flat Didn't Fricken Care if he finished or not so he chose not.
I hung on long enough to claim victory in the group my mother-in-law calls "The Draft Horse Division".
Post Race: As soon as I stopped racing I could feel the cold take over. By the time I got to the truck to change the fingers were numb again. That lead to a decent challenge to get changed and took at least a half hour. We headed back up to the start/finish to cheer on Matt. Since his category runs late in the day at most races, most of us never hang around the race long enough to watch him roll. The IC3 guys had the foresight to bring a portable fire pit and set that bad boy up right next to the course. They had hot chocolate for all and through a pure stroke of genius, I remember to bring a bottle of schnapps. Somewhere between 3 cups of schnapps with some hot cocoa in it and 30 minutes standing as close to the fire as possible, the feeling started to come back in my extremities.
The groups doing 3 laps was an exercise in attrition. Many o rider succommed to our lure of fire and hot drinks and punted on finishing the race. Others seemed to only get stronger as the race went on. We thought for a while that the FMVC crew was going to be sorted into two groups......DNFs and winners. By the end of lap 2, Matt had worked is way though a good part of the A's field and was holding a 30 second lead on the next B's racer. In the end, it was not to be. He came in 2nd for the B's. He admitted to bonking and icing over about 3/4 the way through the last lap. All us fat kids pointed out that when you run more than 10% body fat, the fact that it was cold enough to freeze the balls off of a pool table did not hurt as bad. Fire, hot cocoa, and other liquids were immediately administered to cure his ills.
Da Booty: Below is a pic of the feast you get for winning the Clyde class of an IC3 race. The Chimay did not come from the promoter, that instead was a gift from Lukas for winning. I can tell you that this clydesdale is happier than a soccer mom with a new vibrator with the prize.
"The Bomb Fried Chimi" is just a bit over 1000 calories.
Just about what I expend in a CX race. Coincidence? I think not!
While cleaning up the course the next day, Tom and I discussed different ways to modify the course in order to make it more advantageous to race a CX bike and yet not make it a boring 11 mile road ride. We came up with a few ideas but it still needs work.
